This invention is generally directed to a plastic carrier for carrying containers such as bottles, cans and the like. More particularly, the invention contemplates a plastic carrier which includes a joint between two container carrying portions that can be stretched over the containers without breaking or shearing.
Prior art container carriers, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,128 to Failor, are made of a single sheet of material, usually cardboard, which is folded in half to form free moving flaps and a handle which extends between the flaps upwardly. The flaps hold the containers in shaped apertures. Since the cardboard sheet is folded in half to make the container, the handle is of a double thickness. The sides of the handle are joined together, by adhesive or staples, to deter the carrier from collapsing to a flattened position.
The majority of container carriers today are preferably formed from a plastic material due to the ease and lower cost of manufacturing and the strength of the material. An example of a prior carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,117. The plastic carrier is stretched over the containers which are to be held within the carrier. The single sheet concept of U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,128 to Failor with its glued or stapled handle is not readily adaptable to be used with a plastic material because the joint created by gluing or stapling will not withstand the stresses created by stretching the plastic material around the containers without breaking or shearing.
The present invention is intended to overcome or minimize this problem as well as to present several new advantages.